While adolescents benefit from the involvement of caring adults who participate in their schooling experiences, their families' participation in school events decreases incrementally as they progress through their education. There is still much to be understood about how to develop supportive relationships that encourage families to contribute and support students' literacy learning as they progress through school. This article describes how eighth grade students' attitudes and ideas about their families played a strong role in influencing involvement within a poetry program developed and funded as a way to involve families in the school. Using qualitative ethnographic research methods, data collection consisted of classroom and poetry coffeehouse observations and focus group interviews. Findings indicate that two different factors, the students' perceptions of parents' roles in school and the life contexts of the families, affected the way students encouraged family participation for this poetry program. Insights from students in this study provide important considerations regarding parent involvement in a family literacy program. To bridge connections between home and school, it is important to listen carefully to young adults and community members to meet the needs of adolescent students.